Ionia Idol kicked off Wednesday evening at the E! Park at the Ionia Free Fair. Eleven singers from across Michigan competed to become one of the five finalists moving on to the next round.

Whitney Richer, music director at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Ionia, was the mistress of ceremonies for the event. Judges for the event were Tracy Simon from Fox 47 News, Margie Peterson and Cally Redder, the choir director at the First United Methodist Church in Ionia.

The first performer of the evening was Jordan Murdock of Grand Ledge. Murdock sang "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert. The second singer was Heather Lentz of Lainsburg who sang "Sunday Morning" by Maroon Five.

After technical difficulties, Lentz performed the song a capella until the issue was fixed and she began again.

Skylar Wood of Blanchard, 14, performed "Think of Me" from the Phantom of the Opera. Wood was followed by Bernadette Katherine, 13, of Royal Oak.

Katherine also sang "Mama's Broken Heart" by Miranda Lambert.

Uliah Conley of Saranac performed "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland. According to Richer, Uliah was a Russian exchange student who found love in Saranac and decided to stay and get married. Conley has resided in Ionia County ever since.

Ashley Bowker of Ionia performed Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About" and was followed by Alexandra Allen, 16, also from Ionia. Allen sang "Glory of Love" by Bette Midler.

Rachel Watson, 33, of St. Johns performed Celine Dion's "Alone" and was followed by Ionia native Caitlin Cusack who performed a rendition of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cindy Lauper.

The final performers were both from Jenison. Nate Altena, 15, sang "Charlie Brown" by Coldplay and Alexa Vandergeld, 16, said "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles.

Between performers Richer entertained the audience with "fun facts" regarding the Ionia Free Fair and the Ionia Idol competition.

"The Ionia Free Fair wasn't always the called that. From 1857-1913, it was the 'Ionia District Fair.' Then it shut down for two years and a man named Gov. Green decided it needed to be brought back and that it needed to be free," Richer said.

After a bit of deliberation, the five finalists were announced in the order of their performance, not ranking. The finalists from Wednesday evening are Bowker, Lentz, Cusack, Conley and Watson.

Ionia Idol will continue at the E! Park at the Ionia Free Fair tonight at 7 p.m. through Saturday. The 2013 Ionia Idol will be declared after Saturday's competition.

Sponsors for Ionia Idol this year are Independent Bank of Ionia, First Bank of Ionia, Marathon Gas Station and the Lamplight Grill.